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Our Dwarves Are All the Same: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:Dwarf-small.jpg|frame|Standard Issue Dwarf.]]
{{quote|''A short, sturdy creature fond of drink and industry.''|''[[Dwarf Fortress]]''}}
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See also [[Five Races]], [[Elves vs. Dwarves]]
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{{examples}}
=== Anime and Manga ===
* ''[[Record of Lodoss War]]'' had a handful of dwarf characters. The most notable was Ghim from the first series, who played the role of [[Older and Wiser]] mentor to the hero, Parn; he was grumpy, fought with an axe, had a beard, and possessed incredible stamina, like you expect from a dwarf.
** The sequel, ''Chronicles of the Heroic Knight'', introduced a dwarf priest named Father Greevas, who subverted the trope by being quiet, gentle, and fatherly, with a bowl-cut and goatee instead of the standard bushy beard.
=== Card Games ===
* Dwarves have appeared sporadically in ''[[Magic: The Gathering]]'', though the game designers seem not to like them much. They live in the mountains and like to fight so they belong to the Red color/philosophy, but the stoic and orderly culture of traditional fantasy dwarves is more White, not to mention how goblins hog all the slots for person sized red creatures, so they're sort of an odd race out. ''MtG'' did shake up the usual dwarf formula in the ''Odyssey'' block, where the dwarves were portrayed as passionate artisans and warriors with a strong affinity for fire magic. Later in the game's history, the kithkin in ''Lorwyn'' were portrayed as sort of a cross between hobbits (which is what they were [[Captain Ersatz|originally intended to be called]]) and dwarves, combining the Little Folk's general smallness and pastoral living with the Stout Folk's tenacity and well-organized communal defense; the kithkin become even more dwarflike in ''Shadowmoor'', where they have abandoned their country villages for heavily fortified castles and become rabidly xenophobic.
** The ''Eventide'' expansion to the ''Shadowmoor'' block added actual dwarves known as duergar, with affinities for both white and red, and modified the design of dwarves to axe the hair and make them up more pasty. These creepy dwarves are based on the folklore of Britain.
=== Literature ===
* [[J. R. R.
▲* [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[Lord of the Rings]]'' is the origin of the trope. Interestingly, in an attempt to make them sound fundamentally different from other races, Tolkien's Dwarvish language is constructed along the lines of the [[wikipedia:Semitic languages|Semitic languages]]; none of them ever speak with a Scottish or Welsh accent at all. When you combine the quasi-Semitic language with their lost homeland and usual status as a minority in lands ruled by other races, many writers have compared them to [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|analogues to the Jews]] (an allusion that also comes up in the [[Discworld]] series). Tolkien himself alluded to the idea in response to allegations that it was a negative depiction; he was particularly sympathetic [[World War Two|given the time he was alive]]. His dwarves are different from dwarfs of folklore and fairy tales primarily in that [[Proud Warrior Race|a lot of them are warriors]] in addition to being miners and craftsmen. They of course, pay tribute to their roots, being quite Nordic in culture (Rohirrim are primarily Saxon-land-Vikings, an Gondor has a Nordic vibe too), and having names stolen from the Poetic Edda. A thing that Tolkien long regretted as it forced him to come up with an explanation why a Real-world language such as Old Norse would exist in a Fantasy world.
** [[The Silmarillion|Tolkein's background notes]] reveal the reason Dwarves are so different from the other races: that they were made by Aule, one of the [[Powers That Be|Valar]] - not [[The Omnipotent|Eru Illuvatar]] himself, although after the fact Eru gave them the spark of free will that Aule couldn't provide. Since he knew that [[The Devil|Morgoth]] was loose in the world, Aule designed the Dwarves to be able to resist suffering and evil - a fact that came in handy millenia later, when Sauron offered them [[Don't Touch It, You Idiot!|seven golden Rings of Power.]]
* ''[[The Chronicles of Narnia]]'' features dwarfs, but depicts them as a race that is almost [[Always Chaotic Evil]]. While there are good dwarves (the [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|"red dwarfs"]]), who are grumpy but good-natured, the majority of them (the [[Colour-Coded for Your Convenience|"black" ones]]) are ruthless, greedy, traitorous bastards. The black dwarfs eventually [[Flat Earth Atheist|renounce Aslan's existence]], and are duly punished with being blind/insane and abandoned to grovel away at each other (they are, of course, Lewis's allegory for atheists).
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* In Chris Evans ''Iron Elves'' trilogy Sergeant Yimt is a [[Boisterous Bruiser]] [[Sergeant Rock]]. The only other dwarf met in the series is a veteran turned unscrupulous merchant. Dwarves were once enslaved by the Empire and brought to it from across the sea, resulting in a a racial claustrophobia of being inside ships. Due to the racial habit of chewing crute, a metal infused spice, most Dawrves are literally [[Made of Iron]], or at least their bones are. While they do use axes other common weapons are the drugar, [[Call a Rabbit a Smeerp|whose description sounds a lot like a machete]], and the shatterbow, a cross between a crossbow and a shotgun that fires explosive bolts.
=== Live Action TV ===▼
▲== Live Action TV ==
* [[Star Trek]] has the Tellarites, one of the founding members of the Federation. They had a fierce rivalry with the [[Our Elves Are Better|Vulcans]], are stubborn, undiplomatic, and generally have the competence to back up their boasts, all dwarven hallmarks.
* The Seven Dwarves in [[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]. Grumpy gets the most screen time for some reason and fits the trope to a T.
** Later appearances of the dwarves in the series show some more unusual characteristics, one of which is the fact dwarves aren't born, they're hatched in ''eggs''.
=== Mythology ===
* [[Norse Mythology]] -- here's where it all started. Though they were somewhat varied, the basics of common lore goes back to mythology. The long beards, skilled at metallurgy, lived in caves, etc. They also turned to stone (sometimes temporarily, sometimes not) when exposed to sunlight. There was also discrepency amongst how long they lived, some myths had them be an adult at three years old and an old man by nine, some myths had them always looking old but being immortal. They had coal-black hair, extremely pale skin, actually were a type of elf and were human-sized at first, but [[Memetic Mutation]] changed them a lot even during the Viking era. By the late [[Middle Ages]], they were much closer to the Dwarves we'd recognize today. In [[Norse Mythology]], dwarves were originally endoparasites. Like ''tapeworms'', living in the intestines of some of the first giants.
** In one version, they first appeared as maggots in the corpse of Ymir, whose body was then made to form the earth itself. In this light, the stated origin for the dwarves seems an appropriate metaphor, what with their penchant for tunneling and living beneath the surface of the earth.
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** Tapeworms aside, it should be mentioned that they usually appeared as cave-dwellers forging weapons and jewelry. Sometimes with remarkable results. It was cavedwelling dwarves who made Thor's hammer (always hits, destroys its target, returns to the user), Odin's spear (always hits its target), Freya's necklace (shining like the sun), and the nine golden rings (give birth to new rings). Thus the legend of the stunted master forgers in the mountains was born.
=== Newspaper Comics ===
* The subterranean Dawn People, or [[Celtic Mythology|Thuatha]], from [[Prince Valiant]].
=== Tabletop Games ===
* ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' -- not surprising, given how much it was originally based on Tolkien.
** One widely used D&D addition is the idea that Dwarves are inherently more resistant to [[Functional Magic|magic]], being that they're all stolid and stony like the earth and all. Yet in the original myths, dwarves produced all manner of magical artifacts for the Aesir. Even Tolkien's dwarves managed to make mithril, the local [[Unobtainium]]. That said, they were resistant to [[The Corruption]].
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* The Jotun of ''[[New Horizon]]'' were once compared to dwarves, except being huge [[Insistent Terminology|wafans]] instead of short humans. [[Refuge in Audacity|Subsequently a group of dwarves raided the forum, decapitated the person who made the claim, and told everybody never to compare them to war machines again]].
=== Theater ===
* [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Der Ring Des Nibelungen]]'', epic predecessor and undoubted inspiration to Tolkien (the clue's in the title). His Nibelung dwarves are, true to their Norse roots, subterranean miners and metalcrafters. His dwarven brothers Alberich and Mime inspired the thieving dwarf Mîm who appears in ''The Silmarillion''.
** These legends of course [[Older Than You Think|all predate Wagner by a fair few centuries]].
=== Video Games ===
* In ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'', [[The Dev Team Thinks of Everything|every single dwarf]] has a description listing, amongst others, [[Description Porn|physique, hair style and colour, eye colour, facial features, interpersonal skills, age and fondness for giant toads]]. The last line of every description, however, is that they "must have alcohol to get through the day". (Or, depending on how the fortress' alcohol stocks are doing, something like "must have alcohol to get through the day, and has gone without a drink for far, far too long.") It's a biological necessity, even for babies and children; lack of alcohol causes them to work slowly and inefficiently.
* ''[[Puzzle Quest Challenge of the Warlords]]'': Khrona doesn't hide her most obvious gender identifiers, but still sports a nice, long beard.
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* While no actual dwarves, or any other conventional race, appear in the series, the Godom of [[Paladin's Quest]] certainly invoke this archetype. They're a subterrainian race who excell in weapon smithing and explosives, but are generaly bad at magic. Their appearance, on the otherhand, is anything but. They actually resemble large bipedal dinosaur, insect, ram... things.
=== Webcomics ===▼
▲== Webcomics ==
* ''[[Twice Blessed]]'' has Vadim as a main character, who meets most dwarf stereotypes, but comes from a Russian-type culture and has a matching accent, drinks Vodka, uses the word "brother" in place of "laddie", and never seems to feel the need to point out that he is a dwarf.
* ''[[Dominic Deegan]]'' has recently added Dwarves to its array of races, and from their first appearance, we have bearded females, and a long-standing rivalry with ''[[Hobbits|Halflings]]''. Mostly over beer nowadays.
* [[The Dreamland Chronicles]] [http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/the-dreamland-chronicles/chapter-12/ Just look at them]
=== Web Original ===
* ''[[Dorf Quest]]'''s Beardbeard, and every other dorf we've seen, has been this trope taken to psychotic extremes - every problem can be solved with a [[Drinking Contest]], violence, or a [[Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs|violent drinking contest]].
* In ''[[The Salvation War]]'', [[Evil Genius|Belial's]] [[Elaborate Underground Base]] of [[Dwarf Fortress|Palelabor]] is staffed by a horde of very squat, heavyset demons with long gray beards, who are, for all intents and purposes, dwarves.
=== Real Life ===
* Yes, they're short humans rather than a Tolkienesque race, but it's worth a mention: the Mississippi state legislature has considered giving dwarfs a special dispensation to use crossbows -- a stock fantasy-world dwarf's favorite projectile weapon -- to hunt deer in archery season, as short limbs really do impede the use of conventional bows.
* Gold-smithing in [[Ancient Egypt]] was often carried out by dwarf artisans, who were favored vassals of the royal household.
=== Comic Books ===▼
▲== Comic Books ==
* ''[[Gold Digger (Comic Book)|Gold Digger]]'' Dwarves have optional beards on both sexes, no specific accents, aren't all short tempered and have plenty of non-miners, but otherwise fit the mold. A female Dwarf villain, G'nolga, insists that the beauty of dwarf women is legendary. While she and other dwarf females definitely don't look bad, one does wonder how much of this comes from her [[Hot Amazon|being acknowledged as one of the ten strongest fighters on the planet]].
* In ''[[Elf Quest]]'', even
== Film ==▼
▲=== Film ===
* The film version of ''[[The Hobbit (film)|The Hobbit]]'' is taking pains to avert this trope. The dwarves are all short, hairy, and crusty, but they have great variety in their faces, beards, clothing, body types, personalities and weaponry.
=== Literature ===
* [[Margaret Weis]] and Tracy Hickman have tried to avert this. ''[[The Death Gate Cycle]]'' was basically about what happens to Tolkienesque races' cultures when put in completely different worlds, and [[The Sovereign Stone]] Trilogy [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture|recast them as Mongol-style nomads (the Elves were Japanese]]). Didn't really work, because the dwarves always got the least characterization, but they tried.
* The ''[[Shannara]]'' series has dwarves mutated from human stock (like most of [[Five Races|the races]] of the books) but with the added caveat that, [[Lamarck Was Right|due to their ancestors' millennia of hiding in shelters]], they are claustrophobic and dislike going underground. They actually appropriate the typical elven skill in that they are skilled woodsmen, and their crafts are mostly carved from wood rather than stone.
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* In Adrian Tchaikovsky's ''[[Shadows of the Apt]]'' series Beetle-kinden are essentially clean shaven dwarves in a [[Clock Punk]]/[[Steampunk]] setting. Short, stocky, technological and capitalistic with the [[Proud Scholar Race|Collegium beetles]] emphasizing the tech side and [[Proud Merchant Race|the Helleron Beetles]] emphasizing the capitalist side.
=== Tabletop Games ===
* The Mountain Folk of ''[[Exalted]]'' draw heavily on the Norse Dwarves for inspiration, but two of their castes (Artisans and Warriors) are actually human-sized; the Artisans are tall, beautiful super-geniuses, and their warriors look like ''neanderthal [[Space Marine|space marines]] in [[Powered Armor|power armor]].''
* Mike Pondsmith's ''[[Castle Falkenstein]]'' roleplaying game (from R. Talsorian Games) had dwarves based more on the ancient Germanic myth model -- supernaturally strong and resistant to fire, with chicken feet (which they hide by wearing big boots), and ''no females at all.'' When they marry, they marry Faerie women -- [[Gender Equals Breed|the male children are more Dwarves, the girls are Faeries like Mom]]. They do have the whole mining and beer obsession, but are more likely to fight with big wrenches than axes as they are the master technologists of their world.
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** 3.5 presented several environmental variants with only minor differences from the standard hill dwarf. Desert dwarves are gruff miners who are good at finding water. Glacier dwarves are gruff miners who are good at surviving in the arctic. Seacliff dwarves are gruff miners who are good at swimming. And so on.
=== Video Games ===
* The Dwarves of ''[[The Elder Scrolls]]'' were a breed of elves, roughly human-sized, with a material culture like that of ancient Mesopotania with a hint of classical China. And yet, they lived in fortresses under mountains, tapped magma to power their forges, were masters of metalworking, made really high-quality beer steins, developed technology millenia ahead of any civilization before or since, had huge beards, were reclusive, hated (other) elves, and finally dug too deep and vanished from the face of the earth. Though neither Scottish nor Norse in the least, they were, unmistakably, ''Dwarves''.
** Of course, they didn't hate other elves for anything like the usual reason—they hated anything other than Dwemer, [[Evilutionary Biologist|viewing other beings as at best potential slaves or experimental subjects]], with few exceptions (a brief alliance with the Dunmer, for one). They also eventually [[Critical Existence Failure|annihilated themselves]] by ''trying to use the heart of a dead god [[A God Am I|to become gods themselves]]''.
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* The Dwarves of the old [[Might and Magic]] verse customized their dwarves by removing one of the traditional details: rather than hating elves, they were ''allies'' (up until Heroes IV). Well, except for [[Might and Magic]] VIII, but the Dark Dwarves of that game customized the model by being xenophobes to the point that no one is really sure if they are allies or servants of the Earth Elementals instead.
=== Web Original ===
* Dwarves in ''[[Tales of MU]]'' mostly follow the model, with a few additions. Their names have a Germanic flavor, they count in [[Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (novel)|base seven]], and while they seem like a [[One-Gender Race]], it's been explained that male and female dwarves just don't get along. The one full-blooded female dwarf who appeared was not described with a beard. MU dwarves have a strong disposition for secrecy and privacy, though the college-going ones are willing to make exceptions for attractive women of other races. One recurring minor character, Gebhard, shows a somewhat fussy and fastidious nature.
* [[Limyaael's Fantasy Rants|Limyaael]] suggests that customizing the model is a [http://limyaael.livejournal.com/137511.html really good idea].
* The dwarves in ''[[Arcana Magi]]'' are techno savvy. One dwarf is on the Board of Directors for Avalon Tech Enterprises as head of the metal works division. One dwarf works there in the technology department.
=== Webcomics ===
* ''[[Twice Blessed]]'' has Vadim as a main character, who meets most dwarf stereotypes, but comes from a Russian-type culture and has a matching accent, drinks Vodka, uses the word "brother" in place of "laddie", and never seems to feel the need to point out that he is a dwarf.
* ''[[Unforgotten Realms]]'' averts this about as far as is possible. ''Any'' character which isn't obviously another species is invariably a Dwarf. Probably the only character who even has a beard is Sir Schmoopy of Awesometon, one of the two main player characters.
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* In ''[[Vanadys: Tales of a Fallen Goddess]]'', dwarfs (note the plural spelling) are the second most numerous race in the world next to humans, and live and work close to humans. The stereotypical dwarf is a keen businessman with a great talent for making money, and many human businesses employ a dwarf, or several, to handle their finances. Berrok, the main dwarf character in the comic, is a trenchcoat-clad [[Deadpan Snarker]] with a shady past.
=== Anime ===▼
▲== Anime ==
* It's becoming increasingly common in anime-derived art, including some video games, for female dwarves to be portrayed as cute young girls (often straying into [[Lolicon]] territory). Ymir from ''[[Queen's Blade]]'' is a prime example.
** ''[[Lineage II]]'' uses this
** The Japanese pen and paper RPG ''[[Sword World]]'' does this, with the female dwarves looking more like [[Our Gnomes Are Weirder|Gnomes]] than anything else.
* Matt Cavotta, art director for "[[Magic: The Gathering]]", wrote a column about the lack of dwarves in Magic. He starts with the stereotypical red dwarf and changes it step by step into the ideal, red dwarf. Results are ... [http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/daily/mc14b interesting].▼
===
▲* Matt Cavotta, art director for
=== Literature ===
* ''[[Discworld]]'' (where it is spelled "Dwarfs", just like Tolkien noted in the preface to later editions of ''The Hobbit''). Vimes' experience with them points to countryside dwarfs usually being quiet industrious types who don't cause trouble, and putting on airs of being rowdy and violent seem to be trait only annoyingly common in his city. This is probably because, unlike their home mines, the city won't cave in on their heads if they're noisy, and there's more beer available. Also they are German and Welsh as well as Scottish. Interestingly, given the Semitic roots of Tolkien's dwarvish language, there [[Fan Wank|are theories]] that Pratchett's dwarfs are Jewish-ish (quiet, hard-working, thrifty, very respectful of ancient traditions that they don't feel they necessarily follow as closely as they're supposed to...).
** The above description also fits many other ethnic and/or immigrant groups besides Jewish-ish.
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* In the ''[[Dragaera]]'' novels written by Steven Brust, Easterners, who are identical to real-world humans, are sometimes called "dwarfs" by the tall, elf-like Dragaerans. Easterner society is based on medieval Eastern Europe rather than anything resembling Celtic or Nordic. The Serioli come a bit closer, living underground and forging powerful magical weapons, but are otherwise completely different.
=== Live-Action Television ===
* In ''[[Once Upon a Time (TV series)|Once Upon a Time]]'', dwarves are always "male", are asexual, and are hatched in groups of 8, fully grown (and fully clothed) from ''eggs''. Their names are magically given to them by their pick-axes based on their personality, and it's their job as a species to crush diamonds into fairy dust.
=== Webcomics ===
* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'' -- [[Lampshade Hanging|LampShaded]] in the quote on the quotes page. Further, Durkon's accent is so inseparable that it even appears in his written speech; though Roy is confused by it, it could be assumed that the dwarves he is writing his letter to would find it natural.
** Also, Durkon gets along about as well as anyone does with their resident elven [[Insufferable Genius]], Vaarsuvius. He is, however, deathly afraid of trees.
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* ''[[The Dreadful]]'' gives us [[Ax Crazy]] Burke, who is less like a typical dwarf and more like an [[Expy]] of Yosemite Sam.
=== Web Original ===
* [http://www.geneticanomaly.com/RPG-Motivational/slides/dwarf.html This motivational poster], depicting a [[Lineage]] dwarf.
* It may be difficult to find these days, but an old Gamespy comedy feature article were two writers comparing various things (like sorcerers versus warriors) and once, [[Elves vs. Dwarves]] came up. They pointed out that there are many different depictions of elves, but dwarves tend to all be the same.
* In ''[[Tales of the Questor]]'' [http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00729.html dwarves] are practically blind, their toes are prehensile, and their beards are actually a thick coat of fur sprouting out of their chests
=== Video Games ===
* ''[[Overlord]]'' deliberately exaggerates all dwarf stereotypes for comedic effect. Drinking, mining gold, hoarding gold, doing something altogether unsanitary to gold, sporting gigantic beards, wielding enormous axes, and harassing elves is basically their entire function. They have even less personality than the elves, which is impressive considering that the elves spend all their lives bewailing their lot and [[Our Elves Are Better|talking about how awesome they used to be]]. In fact, the only sound you get from a dwarf is a grunt. Followed by axe swing/flamethrower.
* Aside from alcoholism and beards, ''[[Dwarf Fortress]]'' lets you play them however you want.
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=== Western Animation ===
* ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'': The dwarves [[Elves Versus Dwarves|launch an attack on the elves]], in revenge for being stuck farming mushrooms while the ([[Christmas Elves|Santa-esque]]) elves got the much more profitable cookie business.
** "Release the GIANT ONE-EYED DWARF!"
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